Recent changes in Immigration policies make mandatory detention
much more likely for Visa holders and Lawful Permanent Residents.
FALLS CHURCH, Virginia-April 2, 2007- If you have been recently arrested or have been released from prison after October 8, 1998, you may be subject to mandatory detention for Immigration purposes. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may arrest and hold you in an Immigration Detention Facility based on the criminal charge. This could happen even if you served a minimal amount of time in jail as long as the criminal charge, arrest, or release from custody occurred after October 8, 1998.
On March 21, 2007, in Matter of Kotliar, 24 I&N Dec. 124 (BIA 2007), the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled on the topic of mandatory detention during a bond re-determination hearing. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is the governmental body having jurisdiction over appeals submitted by detainees and respondents who have been ordered deported by an Immigration Judge during removal proceedings.
As a result of this ruling, an alien who has been apprehended from home while on probation for a criminal conviction, is subject to mandatory detention for Immigration purposes. This means that the individual is to be mandatorily detained by ICE and is not able to seek bond or release. The individual subject to mandatory detention will not be able to seek bond or release if the arrest or the release occurred after October 8, 1998.
For example, if someone is arrested for a DUI and is released from jail this year, he or she may be picked up by ICE and held in an Immigration Detention Center while going through removal proceedings. As long as the arrest or release occurred after October 8, 1998, the individual will have a difficult time seeking release on bond. Even if the arrest was based on a crime that is not the grounds for your charges of deportation, you may still be subject to mandatory detention based on the arrest.
The BIA indicated that its ruling is “consistent with the congressional concern that criminal aliens would continue to commit crimes and would fail to appear for removal hearings if they were not detained.” This recent ruling came about as a result of an appeal from an individual who entered the United States as a visitor and stayed for longer than authorized, who had been convicted of several crimes.
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An individual can appeal a final order of deportation by the Immigration Judge to the BIA. In some cases, the individual can even appeal to the Circuit Court having jurisdiction over the case. In general, the BIA is the last governmental body to review the individual’s case. Hence, the decision by the BIA is the final say on whether the individual appealing is able to stay in the United States or is to be deported.
About ILE
Immigration Legal Experts, Inc. is a South Florida-based law firm, handling cases in all 50 states. The firm, headed by attorney Sonia Munoz, is very active in protecting the rights of Immigrants. You can find more information about fraud and Immigrants’ rights on their website at www.immigrationlegalexperts.com, or by calling 1-866-482-VISA(
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